Perfect pancakes, Candlemas or not, take a little practice. Thanks to this study, here's the secret to great pancakes!
Candlemas or not, it's always a good time to make pancakes! How to succeed in making the perfect pancake, well round, thin and uniform? The extremely serious answer comes from two researchers in fluid mechanics and physics.
Matthieu Sellier, fluid mechanics specialist and physicist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, joined forces with Edouard Boujo, member of the École Polytechnique de Paris, to look into the subject. So, is there a secret recipe kept for generations by die-hard Breton.ne.s? The key, according to the researchers, lies in the cooking. The challenge is to evenly distribute the dough while the hot pan will quickly solidify it. They propose a theoretical solution published in a scientific journal in June 2019. Everything is in the movement of the wrist: you must first pour the dough in the center of the pan, then tilt it before the dough touches the edge of the pan. pan. Then, one or two full turns to distribute everything evenly before coming back horizontal to fill in any holes if there are any. This movement is depicted in the video below.
Those accustomed to the pancake will have recognized a movement that they make instinctively, which the researchers do not deny. "It was great to be able to confirm that people are good 'intuitive optimizers', at least in the simple case of pancake making.", they commented. However, there remains a debate that these researchers have not decided: rather to fold or roll your pancake?